A Most Improbable Story: The Evolution of the Universe, Life, and Humankind

Cover
Half Title
Title
Copyright
Contents
Preface
Acknowledgments
Introduction: Perspective Matters, But Perspective Isn’t Everything
The Silent “Big Bang”
Strange Behavior in the Subatomic World
The “God Hypothesis”
The Belief in God: Is This Just a Quaint Set of Anachronistic Ideas?
Uncertain Realities
Science as a Vehicle to Understand the Universe
Some of the Limits of Choosing Science to Explore Reality
Using Theology to Understand the Natural World—Attributes and Shortcomings
Philosophical Logic, Yet Another Way of Knowing
Moving Forward
Life in the Realm of Uncertainty
References
Part I The Making of a Habitable World
Chapter 1 In the Beginning—The Genesis of the Universe
One Heck of a Beginning
Scalar Fields and the Remarkable Unfolding of the Universe
The Establishment of the Cosmological Constant, Λ (Lambda)
Fundamental Forces Establish the Fabric of the Universe
The Importance of Matter and Antimatter Asymmetry
Getting the Density of Matter Right: The Value of Ω (Omega)
The Importance of Symmetrically Distributing Matter: The Value of Q
Existing in a Three-Dimensional Universe
Timing Is Relative, and Timing Makes a Difference
The Arrow of Time
The Critical Values of Many Other Fundamental Constants Also Influence the Nature of Our Universe
The Birth of the Universe’s Primordial Atoms
The First Five Minutes of the Universe—An Influential Time Period Indeed
References
Chapter 2 The Life and Death of a Star
Forging Atoms and Setting the Stage for the Birth of a Star
The Dark Age of the Universe
The Importance of the Hydrogen Nuclear Binding Efficiency (ε)
Stars Are the Heavy Element Generators of the Universe
Rounding Out the Periodic Table
Stars as Planet Makers and Galactic Constituents
The Death of a Stellar Giant
The Supernova: A Beacon in the Night and an Impressive Alchemy Factory
The Kilonova: The Ultimate Alchemy Factory
The Birth of Our Solar System
Stars as the Energy Source for Biological Evolution
References
Chapter 3 The Milky Way—A Goldilocks Galaxy
Why Dark Matter Matters?
Black Holes Are at the Heart of Our Existence
Traffic Control Within the Accretion Disk and the Growth of a Supermassive Black Hole
Current and Upcoming Galactic Mergers
The Activity of the Milky Way’s Supermassive Black Hole Appears to Be in Goldilocks Range
A Giant Awakens
To Be or Not to Be
Stars, Black Holes, and the Constants of the Universe
The Nature of a Suitable Home
References
Chapter 4 The Galactic Cradle
Danger Waits in the Center of the Galaxy
The Relatively Tranquil Galactic Suburbs of the Milky Way
The Galactic Suburbs Have Elemental Gravitas
Size Matters
Being Made of the Right Stuff Is Important
Consistency Counts
Is the Existence of Our Sun, With All Its Anomalies, Another Fortunate Event for Humankind, or Is It Simply a Statistical Inevitability?
References
Chapter 5 The Inimitable Earth
The Slow Planetary Construction Process
Getting the Planetary Chemistry Right
A Life-Supporting Planet Must Be Climate Controlled
The Construction of Earth Likely Required a Little Help From Its Celestial Neighbors
Mars—Celestial Evidence That Constructing a Life-Supporting Terrestrial Planet Is a Tricky Business
Venus—Yet Another Example of the Improbability of Forming a Life-Supporting Planet
Maintaining a Planet’s Atmospheric Thermostat
More Bad News for Venus
We Are Endlessly Traveling in Circles, or Nearly So
Stabilizing Obliquity
The Importance of Keeping a Planet in Kilter
Earth and the Moon’s Longtime Cosmic Partnership
Sizing Up Our Living Quarters
The Emergence of a Place We Call Home
References
Part II The Emergence of Life From a Lifeless World
Chapter 6 Let There Be Life—The Rise of the Prokaryotes
The Significance of Life
The Mysterious Appearance of Life
Bacteria: Visitors From Afar?
Nailing Down Life’s Birthdate
The Path to Protocellular Life
The Quest to Understand the Genesis of the First Protocell
An RNA First Model
The Formation of Autonomous, RNA-Based Protocells
Step 1—The Construction, Concentration, and Activation of Biologically Important RNA Precursor Molecules
The Formation of Autonomous RNA-Based Protocells
Step 2—The Formation of Nucleotides From Precursor Molecules, and the Linking of Nucleotides to Form Single-Stranded RNA
The Formation of Autonomous RNA-Based Protocells
Step 3—Using Single-Stranded RNA to Generate Protocells
The Formation of Autonomous RNA-Based Protocells
Step 4—Non-Catalytic Replication of Protocellular RNA
The Formation of Autonomous RNA-Based Protocells
Step 5—Enhancing the Rate of RNA Replication During Protocellular Division
Something New Under the Sun
From Protocell to True Bacterial Cell—A Fundamental Transition in the History of Life
The Appearance of the First Genetically Specified Proteins and DNA
All in Good Time
Getting to Know LUCA (The Last Universal Common Ancestor)
Was the Evolution of Self-Replicating RNA Really the Key to Generating Life on Earth?
What Are the Odds?
Trying to Estimate the Inestimable
The Enthusiastic Search for Extraterrestrial Life
References
Chapter 7 Evolution—The Generator of Life’s Diversity
The Genesis of Earth’s Varied Life Forms
Evolution—The Miracle of Life
Darwin in a Nutshell
Changing Populations
Mendel to the Rescue?
And Where’s the Evidence for Natural Selection?
Time Is of the Essence
Wrestling With the Concept of Geological Time
Slow and Steady Works
Was Darwin Right on All Counts?
Darwin’s Insights on the Nature of Speciation
Reflecting Upon Our Understanding of How Life’s Diversity Arose
The Modern Human—Destined to Be or Here by Chance?
Evidence of a Biologically Nondeterministic World
Is Natural Selection Convergent, Contingent, or Both?
Confounding Laplace’s Demon
References
Chapter 8 The Rise of the Superkingdoms—Bacteria, Archaea, and Eukarya
The Long Road to Prokaryotic Versatility
Earth’s Vicissitudes—Not Too Severe, But Not Too Gentle Either
Additional Evolutionary Accelerants—The Evolution of Evolvability and the Evolution of the Chromosome
Oxygen-Generating Photosynthetic Bacteria—One of the Most Unusual Creatures Ever to Inhabit Earth
The End of the Good Times
Oxygen—A Terraforming Gas
Cyanobacteria—One of the First Protomulticellular Organisms
Cyanobacteria—A Strong Candidate for MVP (Most Valuable Prokaryote)
The Divergence of the Prokaryotes and the Formation of the Bacteria and Archaea Superkingdoms
The Eukarya—Cellular Life 2.0
The Evolution of the Eukarya
New Mechanisms for the Replication and Storage of Genetic Information
The Devil Is in the Details
A Closer Look at the Mysterious “Loki”
The Eukaryotic Revolution
What Are the Odds of Forming a Eukaryotic Cell?
Eukaryotic Life in the Milky Way
References
Chapter 9 Partnering Up—The Journey From Single-Cell Eukaryotes to Multicellular Animals
The Original Sexual Revolution
What’s Sex Good For?
It Pays to Be Dynamic
Joining Together—The Emergence of Multicellular Life
The Rogue Cell—An Omen of Death in a Clonal Complex
Acquiring a Functional Identity—Developmental Biology Emerges Within a Eukaryotic Multicellular Complex
The Diversification of Eukaryotic Multicellular Organisms
The Great Blossoming of the Animals
References
Chapter 10 The Blossoming of Terrestrial Life
The Phanerozoic Eon
The Invasion of the Coasts by Bacteria and Eukaryotic Algae
The Animals Finally Come Ashore
Life’s Near-Death Experience
The Rise of the Dinosaurs
Our Distant Ancestors—Masters of How to Survive in the Most Difficult of Environments
The Rise of the Mammals
The End-Cretaceous Mass Extinction
Time and Place Counterfactuals
The Cenozoic—The Era of the Mammal Finally Arrives
References
Chapter 11 The Emergence of the Genus Homo—Earth’s First Humans Come Into Being
The Genesis of the First “Humans”
History Repeats Itself
Climate Fluctuation and the Evolution of the Human Brain
The Unique Evolutionary Destiny of the Genus Homo
The Last of the Homo Genus
The Fate of Intelligent Creatures on Our Planet and in Our Galaxy
Finding Ourselves
References
Chapter 12 The Genesis of Behaviorally Modern Homo sapiens—A Cognitively Advanced Human That Can Reflect Upon Its Existence
The Value of a Good Toolset
Forged by Fire
The First Migration of Humans Out of Africa
The African Incubator
The African Homo sapiens Invade Eurasia
The African Incubator Versus the Eurasian Incubator
The Home-Field Advantage
The Problem With Playing the Away Game
The Extinction of the Original Eurasians
The Great Diaspora
The “Winning Hand” of the African Homo sapiens
The Genetics of Grammatical Language
The Natural Selection of Behaviorally Modern Humans
The World That Came After the Emergence of Behaviorally Modern Humans
The Future of Humankind
References
Chapter 13 The Future of Life on Earth
Will We End Our Lucky Streak?
The Potential for Humanity to Destroy Itself With Its Own Weaponry
Homicidal Tendencies and Nuclear Armageddon—Trouble From Within
Moving Forward in the Nuclear Era
Environmental Destruction
Will Nature End Our Lucky Streak?
Group One Threats: A Grab Bag of Nasty Events
Danger Nearby
A Hodgepodge of Other Dangers
Group Two Threats: Natural Events That Will Threaten Our Existence Sometime in the Future
Volcanic Eruptions and Basalt Floods—Trouble From Below
Asteroids and Comets—Trouble From Above
Mitigating the Most Likely Near-Term Non-Anthropogenic Threats
Group 3 Threats: Natural Events That Will Destroy Life on Earth Sometime in the Distant Future
Peering Into Our Distant Future Through Dark-Colored Glasses
Humanity’s Long-Term Prospects
The Importance of Hope and Perseverance
References
Epilogue
Index